Amanda Bynes lives off gift cards

4th Nov 2014 8:00 PM

AMANDA Bynes is living off gift cards.

The 28-year-old actress - who was released from a psychiatric treatment facility in Pasadena, California last week after being involuntarily committed on October 10 - has been refused cash by her parents who instead grant her an American Express gift card of around $50 for her living expenses.

According to gossip website TMZ, Amanda's parents - who claim they are too "burnt out" to let her continue living with them - give the cards to her court-appointed lawyer who then passes on the funds to the troubled star.

The news follows on from reports that the 'Easy A' actress had been ordered to remain under a conservatorship.

A lawyer claiming to represent Amanda recently asked a judge to remove her mother Lynn Bynes' ability to make decisions on the troubled star's behalf but the judge ruled the actress lacked the capacity to enter into a binding contract or hire a lawyer, so he refused to allow the hearing to go ahead.

Despite claiming on Twitter on Friday morning that she planned to fight to regain control of her life, Amanda did not show up to court, but was spotted having lunch in Mel's Drive-In in Hollywood shortly beforehand.

A waitress at the eatery claimed she arrived with a mystery man, talked about plastic surgery and stepped out of the way several times for an imaginary person.